A computer screen user interface provides the user with certain tools to organize the objects he or she is working with. The most common and typical way of organizing the objects in a computer is a hierarchical structure of directories or folders (hereinafter called folder structure). The user interface typically includes some default initial folder structure, which the user can eventually change by adding new folders and subfolders. Such default or user defined folder structure is used to simplify finding, retrieving and working with the objects, provided the user employs and memorizes certain individual conventions and rules, when the user creates, saves or moves the objects to certain folders or subfolders. Typically, the user tries to create and name folders and subfolders in such a way, that later, whenever necessary, it would be easier for him or her to understand, memorize or logically deduce, what kind of objects should be saved to or retrieved from, a certain folder. An example is the Microsoft Windows Explorer, which presents a folder structure and contents of each folder.
In addition to the folder structure, typically there is a special location, such as a desktop, root directory, special folder or location bar (hereinafter called desktop), to store most frequently used, new, temporary or uncategorized objects. For a reasonable number of objects, such locations provide a faster access for the user. Therefore, as the number of objects in such desktop grows, all but a limited number of the most frequently used objects should be eventually moved into the folder structure. The examples are Microsoft Windows Desktop, which can contain certain spatially limited number of object icons, or default My Documents folder in Microsoft Windows 95/98/2000.
In addition to the folder structure and desktop, some computer applications, software or programs (hereinafter called applications), provide their own default locations to store and retrieve user's objects, with or without folder structure, with or without user's capability to manipulate such folder structure, and with or without access to the general folder structure or desktop. In such cases the user has to organize his or her objects, using a separate set of rules and conventions, specific to such application, and in some cases an additional effort is needed to find, retrieve and work with these objects, other than through such particular application, if it is possible at all to do so. In addition, some applications allow access to the general folder structure for some types of objects, but not for the others. An example is Netscape Messenger, all versions up to the present date, which, for storing email messages, provides its default folder structure, which can be manipulated by the user. Netscape Messenger allows saving some types of objects, such as attached document files, but not the email messages themselves, in a general folder structure. Other examples are Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer, which allow storing the bookmarks or favorites respectively within a special folder structure, but not in a general folder structure.
There are several problems with the above prior approaches. In order to use Windows Explorer to organize objects, the user must be aware of it and learn about its features. Windows Explorer doesn't open automatically, and is merely included as one of many other components of the Windows operating system. Furthermore, Windows Explorer, once opened, doesn't clearly show the features of creating, renaming and manipulating the folders, those features being initially available from inside the cascading menus. As a result, many users, especially novices, cannot easily organize the objects they work with, and waste extra time and expend extra effort to find objects, sometimes unsuccessfully, and in general fail to use the computer in an efficient and convenient way.
In contrast, the Windows Desktop or default My Documents folder are presented very evidently in the user interface (the latter by being a default save location for some applications), and many users, especially novices, use them to store the objects. However, as mentioned above, eventually these locations become cluttered, and, without inherent hierarchical structure, inefficient in organizing the user's objects, as they grow in number.
Among the various types of computer usage, the most common for a computer user are: information processing (e.g. documents, files), communication (e.g. email, messages, contacts), web browsing (e.g. websites, bookmarks). Email clients and web browsers, which handle the second and third types of usage, do not use the same general folder structure-nor do they allow the user to organize the objects they generate into the same general folders—as are used with the information processing, with a few particular exceptions for some specific types of objects. Instead, the user is presented with a specific separate folder structure for each type of the object.
The email clients provide the user with two specific folder structures, one for the email messages, and another one for contacts and email addresses. The document attachments to email messages, however, can be stored in a general folder structure.
The web browsers provide the user with a specific folder structure for bookmarks or favorites. However, the individual bookmarks or favorites subfolders can be saved or copied to a general folder structure.
Not being able to use the general folder structure for all types of objects requires a user to create a multiplicity of several separate folder structures. In addition, a user must maintain and memorize separate folder structures in order to organize the most common everyday objects. Very often, these different types of objects relate to one activity, project, client, matter, etc. as categorized in the mind of the user. For example, if the user is working on a certain Project A, he or she very likely has a number of files and documents related to project A, plus a number of email messages related to project A, plus a number of email addresses for contacts involved in Project A, plus a number of Internet bookmarks for Project A. The prior systems and methods require the user to look for and work with these four types of objects in four separate and different folder structures. Even though the most organized of users may try to coordinate and conform the four different folder structures, every time the user looks for a different type of object, she still needs to access another folder tree, even if conformed. Typically, though, each of the four separate folder structures would be created at different times, and would contain more or less detail than the others, have different names for the folders and subfolders, and as a result, display a great deal of nonconformity in the different objects that are nonetheless related to the same user activity. Efficiency in processing different types of objects within the same activity demands the user to memorize several folder structures, their folder and subfolder names, and consistently follow rules and conventions for each in storing and manipulating the objects. As the number of activities, projects, clients, tasks grows, so does the burden and inefficiency in maintaining parallel folder structures.
In addition, inability to use the same folder structure for all objects of the same activity leads to other inefficiencies in using the computer besides an increase in file maintenance. For example, an email message with an attachment may contain at least three different types of objects: a contact name and email address; text message in the body of the email; and one or several attached files. Except for certain limited numbers of attached file types, which can be viewed inside the email (i.e. images, html documents), the attached files are opened by other applications, which files may be edited and then must be saved in the general folder structure, while the original email message remains in the email folder structure. This separation of the e-mail into different objects has several drawbacks that the present inventors have identified: (1) It is hard for the user to delete an attached file without deleting the text message, (2) Disk space is wasted by keeping two copies of the same attached file; one in the email client and one in the general file structure, (3) The general folder structure fails to contain information about senders/recipients of the attached file.
As referred above, a disadvantage of the prior email clients is that they indicate in their list of communications only the sender of the sent messages, instead of the recipient of the sent messages. In most cases, the sender of the sent messages is the user. A disadvantage of prior user interfaces is their drag-and-drop technique by which a user directs a mouse to move objects within the folder structure and the interface in general. A user has to keep the mouse button pressed while navigating the interface. If a user ceases to press the button during a command operation, he or she loses the ability to complete the operation and has to start all over. Such movement is ergonomically inefficient and taxing, especially to a user who moves objects within and across various folder structures.
The present inventors have perceived drawbacks to piecemeal approaches to the above problems. The present invention provides solutions, thereby giving the user advantageous ways to keep track of multiple sets of information, which otherwise would require additional physical and more complex effort.